Ramaswamy Picks Up Steam in Fox Debate; Steals Obama Quote

(RepublicanDaily.org) – Vivek Ramaswamy – at least if you go by polling numbers – still has a ways to go to even get close to the frontrunner the contest to be the GOP’s presidential candidate next year, former president Donald Trump – but he certainly gained some steam following the Fox News Republican primary debate.

Politico reports that more than 1 million people Googled “Vivek Ramaswamy” in the first 24 hours following the debate. Even Trump, who belittled his rivals in an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that aired at the same time and date as the debate, was all praise for the biotech entrepreneur and even went as far as calling him the winner of the debate.

“This answer gave Vivek Ramaswamy a big WIN,” Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social. Trump was referring to a remark from Ramaswamy that called him the “best president of the 21st century.” It was a thing called TRUTH,” Trump said. “Thank you Vivek!” he added.

Polling data from FiveThirtyEight show Ramaswamy closing in Florida Ron DeSantis’s 14.7% support with his own 9.9%, but both are again, still a far cry from the former commander-in-chief’s massive 52%.

Ramaswamy’s debate performance was not without gaffes, however, beginning with his “skinny guy with a funny last name” quip, which was almost the exact same thing former president Barack Obama said during a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention way back in 2004. He also faced attacks, some sensible, some non sequitur, from the other GOP candidates in the debate.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie mispronounced Ramaswamy’s last name and said that he was tired of listening to “a guy who sounds like ChatGPT.” Former vice president Mike Pence schooled Ramaswamy on how presidential pardons work – the two ostensibly disagree on whether or not Trump should receive a pardon if either of them get to the White House. Ramaswamy is unequivocal in his support of Trump, while Pence refused to commit to issuing a pardon. Ramaswamy clashed with former ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley who criticized his foreign policy, saying that the billionaire businessman would “make America less safe”, and remarked that Ramaswamy had “no foreign policy experience — and it shows.”